Non-Native New Yorker
by BrookHacker
Summary: Maya has left her small-town life behind to attend art school in New York City. Her new roommate Riley seems nice enough and it just so happens that her startlingly cute uncle shares their fire escape. Slow Burn. Joshaya
1. Chapter 1

Non-Native New Yorker

" Are you sure about this?" Katie asked for what seemed like the millionth time that day. Maya let out a heavy sigh. Her mother had been pestering her with that question since they crossed the state line into New York.

"Yes, mother" Maya responded, heaving a box up from her bedroom floor, and onto her bed to unpack.

"It's just that-" Katie began again, but this time she was cut off by her new husband.

" Give it a rest Kat. She's going to be fine." Shawn promised, ruffling Maya's hair as he dropped off another box on the cramped bedroom floor.

"Thank you!" Maya exclaimed exasperated, blowing a strand of her long blonde hair out of her face and looking in the boxes in search of her sheets.

This had been an argument for almost a year now. Ever since Maya had decided that she wanted to go to art school in New York City, her mother had been trying to talk her out of it. It wasn't that Katie was one of those parents that thought that something like art school was impractical or a waste of money, Katie had always encouraged Maya to follow her dreams, no matter what they were. It was the idea that Maya wanted to go to the city. Katie had moved her young daughter out of New York City when Maya was a baby. They'd moved out to a small town in Massachusetts where Katie thought her daughter would be much safer.

While small-town life was safer, it was also much much more boring. Maya craved so much more than 2 stoplights and a movie theatre that always ran a few weeks behind. So when junior year rolled around, and the high school counsellors started laying out pamphlets for dozens of colleges across the country, and Maya had snapped up endless glossy packets with pictures of skyscrapers across their pages. It didn't take much decision to know what Maya wanted to do after high school. She spent all of her free time in the old run-down barn that had come on the land when her mother had bought their farmhouse when Maya was in the second grade. Katie had given Maya free reign in the barn after she got frustrated with Maya monopolizing the dining room table with all of her projects.

Maya felt slightly less guilty about leaving her mother now that Katie was married. Shawn was a photographer that Katie met showing him a cabin at a lake a few miles from their small town. Katie had been a real estate agent since Maya was in elementary school, but this was the first time that she had come home from a showing glowing and babbling on about the nicest guy who was looking at a fishing cabin at the third straight lake. Maya had never known her mother to date, but suddenly Katie was going out every other night and before Maya had time to truly realize what was happening, she was standing next to her mother at the alter as maid of honour. Maya was so used to not having a father around, that it took a while to get used to coming downstairs in the morning to find a grown man sitting at her breakfast table, eating cereal and offering her advice on her college applications. The newness faded fast and Shawn quickly and easily fit into their family. Two became three.

"There are so many nice art schools in Massachusetts!" Katie persisted.

"It's not about that mom," Maya answered again, finally unearthing her sheets and tossing them on the bed, crawling across the mattress so she could tuck in the fitted sheet.

"Is it me?" Katie asked desperately. This was a tactic she hadn't tried yet, and it hit Maya like a dagger to the heart. Her mother was the person that Maya was closest to in the world, and Maya hated to think that her mother thought she wanted to get away from her.

"Mom-" Maya began, but she was saved by Shawn re-entering the tiny bedroom.

"Hey now," He started, wrapping his arms around Katie.

"There is no need to play dirty" Shawn chastised. Shawn had pulled out his phone and had quickly typed out a message.

" Cory texted me, they're going to be here in a few minutes."

Ridley Fine Art college didn't have student housing, so Maya was moving into a tiny two-bedroom apartment that she would be sharing with the daughter of Shawns best friend from childhood.

All that Maya knew about the girl was that her name was Riley and from the sound of it, she was a bit of a wallflower. Riley had decided to get an apartment close to her college campus rather than stay in the dorms because she was afraid it would be too much of a party atmosphere. That fact had made Maya nervous that their apartment might be too much of a study atmosphere.

When the Matthews arrived, it became clear that six people and a ton of boxes were too much for the tiny apartment. So after a quick hello, Maya's group excused themselves with promises of meeting later for dinner.

Maya and her parents walked the short route that would be Maya's walk to school. They lingered in the book store after Maya had picked up all her supplies, and Katie, who could not contain her excitement insisted on buying Maya so much school-sponsored apparel that Maya was bound to look like a walking collegiate advertisement. After the sweatshirt, T-shirt, sweat pants, water bottle, lanyard, and mug all emboldened with the Ridely College name and crest were all loaded in her arms, Maya finally put her foot down.

"Really mom, I don't need a school flag, you're going to max out your master card if you keep this up." Maya joked. Katie just rolled her eyes and pulled Maya into the queue for the checkout.

Dinner that night started out a little awkward for Maya and her new roommate. Shawn had grown up with both of Riley's parents and their little group talked so fast and with such enthusiasm that it was hard to keep up. Katie seemed to fit in just fine among them, laughing at jokes Maya was positive she didn't quite understand but seemed to enjoy anyway. This left Maya and Riley left out. Seated together at one end of the dinner table, Maya had been picking apart a bread roll just to keep herself busy. Eventually, the two found common ground. Something both of them could easily and happily take part in was making fun of their parents.

By the end of the dinner, Maya was feeling slightly more confident about her living situation. If she was able to laugh with this Riley girl, surely she would be able to cohabitate with her. After dinner, and few tears from their mothers, Maya and Riley were left alone in their apartment for the first time. Their minuscule common living space was only enough to accommodate a squishy couch and a tiny table and chair. Their kitchen looked more like a closet and the bathroom that they were going to be sharing would allow for you to pee, shower, and wash your hands all at the same time.

Maya's room wasn't all that bad. It had two decent sized dome windows that lead out onto a fire escape. A double bed was squished into one corner against one of the windows and a decent drawing desk against another wall. Maya had just enough space to set up an easel and a skinny set of drawers for her supplies. She didn't have all that much clothing so it all fit easily into the tiny closet. All of her books were another issue. She stacked up a pile by her bed to act as a wobbly bedside table and a few more onto the window sile. The rest she had to stuff under her bed. Maybe she would be able to install a few shelves at some point. She'd tacked up a single drawing that she'd done. It felt a little narcissistic to hang up her own work, but that one line drawing was something that Maya was honestly proud of. It was also one piece of art that she had never posted to her Instagram. Maya had a mild following on the page where she posted her art, only a few thousand people, and she hated how much that tiny bit of validation made her feel good. Art wasn't about being popular, but it still gave Maya a little surge of glee to know that someone besides her mother and her high school art teacher thought that she was any good.

There was a soft knock on her bedroom door.

"Maya?" Riley's soft voice called, cracking open the door and peering around it.

" I'm making tea. Did you want any?" Maya looked at Riley's innocent and eager face and felt her heart melt. Maya let a warm smile spread across her face.

"Sure" She answered, walking out into the tiny living room to join her new friend.

They sat on their tiny couch together for a few hours, their conversation flowing a lot easier than Maya ever thought that they would. Eventually, Riley's eyes began to droop and she wished Maya a good night as she slipped off to her bedroom and shut the door softly behind her. It was a little after 11:30 and Maya wasn't even remotely tired. Back at home she worked in her barn/ art studio hours into the night, and only slept for a few hours when she physically couldn't keep her eyes open anymore.

It was late August and the apartment was hot and stuffy. Maya hadn't been able to turn down the kind offer of tea from Riley and had gulped down the hot drink. Maya wanted to go outside but the thought of her mother finding out that she'd gone outside at night by herself on her very first night in New York City, she would have probably had an aneurism. So Maya resigned herself back to her bedroom. A bright smile spread across her face when she caught sight of her window and remembered the access she had to a fire escape.

Maya scrambled over her bed and yanked up the window. The air outside wasn't that much cooler than the air in her room, but Maya was happy for the relief none the less. Maya leaned against the railing and stared out over the city that she could hardly believe was now her home.

Suddenly the grate above her shook and Maya jumped in surprise. Her head snapped up and she saw what was the cause of the movement. A tall lanky brown-haired boy had climbed out onto the fire escape above her. Sensing she was standing there, the boy glanced down at her. Maya felt suddenly self-conscious.

"Oh um, sorry," Maya said instinctually as if this was his fire escape and she was intruding. God, she felt so stupid. She was about to duck back in her window and vow never to climb out it again when the boy above her spoke.

"Hey, you're Maya right?"

Maya paused for a second, taken aback by hearing her name out of this guy's lips. The boy had walked around to sit at the top of the stairs that lead down to Maya's landing of the escape. Now that Maya wasn't looking up at him through thick stripes of metal she could see what this guy really looked like. Shit. He was cute. His brown hair and large blue eyes made something in Maya's stomach flip.

" I thought no one knew their neighbours in new york?" Maya began cautiously, instinctively running her fingers through her too long blonde hair. The guy's face cracked into an amused smile. Maya's stomach gave another pang. He really was cute.

"Generally no" He conceded.

"But this special circumstance. I'm Riley's uncle." He explained. Maya crinkled her nose. The boy laughed.

"I've seen that look before. I was whoops baby. Cory is 18 years older than me."

"That would explain it." Maya allowed.

"My living upstairs was one of the conditions of my sister in law letting Riley move out. If a unit hadn't opened up in this building I'm pretty sure that Topanga would have physically restrained Riley in the house. " The boy half-joked. Maya smirked.

" So you're what? A baby sitter?" Maya poked. The words were out of Maya's mouth before she realized what she was doing. She was most definitely flirting. She wasn't used to that. She wasn't really a flirter by trade. The guy smiled wider at her.

" I guess you could call it that." The guy allowed.

" Am I under surveillance too?" Maya teased, now that she had started she couldn't help herself. The guy smirked back.

"It's a blanket policy so" His eyes gleamed at her. He got back to his feet and walked down a few steps in her direction.

"I've been extremely rude thus far. I'm Josh" He introduced himself, extending his arm to her. Maya walked up a step and took his hand. She couldn't remember the last time she had shaken a hand. Maybe the year before at her Ridely interview?

The guy, Josh's, hand was warm in hers.

" Maya" She introduced herself before she remembered that he knew her name.

"But I guess that you already knew that." Maya amended, letting Josh's hand fall from her own.

"I'll see you around then." Maya offered, turning to climb back through her window.

" I'll see you around" Josh answered, a sideways smile on his face as he turned to climb back towards his own apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

NNY 2

Something Maya wasn't used to after growing up in a small town, was just how loud the city was at night. The sounds were exciting for her as she sat at her desk and laboured over a pencil drawing of the building across the street from her own. The fire escapes crossed across the side of the brick building with its large windows, and Maya started daydreaming about the lives of the people who lived behind those domed windows and sat on those fire escapes. She tried to capture that energy inside of her drawings, capture some of that magic on the pages of her sketchbook. By the time that Maya finally closed her books and put away her pencils, it was almost 3 am.

The four hours she usually carved out for sleep had been dashed down to less than two due to all the sirens and shouting, which before had fueled her creativity and now just kept her awake. Maya's eyes were aching and her limbs felt heavy by the time that the alarm on her phone started blaring at 7 am. Maya dragged herself out of bed, her feet meeting the cold wood floor with a slight shutter. She stretched her arms above her head as she sat on the side of her bed in her tiny room. She had about an hour and a half before she needed to get out the door and start walking to campus for her orientation. After her morning session, she'd meet her parents for lunch before they drove back home and Maya would be left on her own for the first time in her entire life. The walls of the apartment were so thin that Maya could hear that Riley was awake and occupying the shower. Maya looked down at her long blond hair, she needed to wash it but she had no idea what kind of showerer Riley was. Would she be in there for 45 minutes, leaving Maya with too little hot water and too little time to get ready? Maya wasn't willing to risk it. She used her nails to scrap up her hair into a messy knot on the top of her head. She didn't have a mirror in her room yet, so she had to settle for looking into the front-facing camera on her phone and hoping for the best. By some miracle of miracles, her bun looked ok. Usually, this type of hairstyle took at least three tries and a lot of frustration before it looked even semi alright. Maya took it as a good sign. She needed to get dressed and get her stuff together for orientation, but before anything else, she needed coffee. She needed coffee like she needed air to breathe.

Maya stepped out of her bedroom door at the same time that Riley opened the tiny bathroom door and a cloud of steam followed out behind her. With her face clean of makeup and her hair wet and slicked back, Maya couldn't help but notice how young Riley looked. They had both recently turned 18 but for some reason, Riley looked so much more innocent to Maya, and she felt the strangest instinct to protect her.

"Good morning!" Riley smiled brightly at her, slightly embarrassed to be caught fresh out of her shower in jut her towel.

"Morning" Maya greeted sleepily.

" Do you have orientation today?" Maya asked doing her best to be friendly. Maya had never been great at having friends. She was a little rough around the edges and often got so lost in her art that she wasn't missing having friends around. She was friendly with people in her classes at school and she had gone out with the other kids in her art classes after a showcase but her one real friend was her mother. She wanted to try with Riley. Something about the girl told her that she hadn't ever really had a friend either.

"Yeah, I was up half the night worrying about it," Riley admitted, her cheeks blaring scarlet with embarrassment. Maya offered an encouraging smile.

" Nothing coffee can't fix" Maya proclaimed, disappearing into their tiny kitchen and yanking open the cramped cupboard that Katie had unpacked all her cups and mugs into. Her own Ridley College Mug was placed at the front, the newest addition to the collection. Riley's own Barnard College mug was placed on the same shelf. She took them both down and then turned. Her plan had hit a wall.

"Um, Riley...did you bring any coffee? Or a coffee maker for that matter?" Maya called, dread rising in her stomach. Riley rounded the corner into the little kitchen, she had changed out of her towel and into a flowery robe. Riley's eyes were wide.

" No" Riley admitted, the colour draining from her face.

" Fuck" Maya muttered under her breath. " How of all things did we overlook getting a coffee maker?" Maya groaned. She might have been being a little dramatic but staying up late and getting up early meant that Maya ran on 75% caffeine, and if she didn't have a cup of coffee soon she was going to go into withdrawal. Riley looked equally miserable.

"I guess I could run down to the bodega and get us some instant, and we could get a real maker later?" Riley offered, but Maya saw that it was pointless. By the time either of them got dressed, sought out coffee, and made it back to the apartment, it would be time to leave for their orientations. Was it really worth it for a bad cup of instant?

"It's fine" Maya promised. " We can stop in somewhere on the way to school" Maya suggested. Maya and Riley's routes to school were similar and they would be able to walk most of the way together on days they have classes at the same time. Riley bit her lip, thinking for a moment.

" No. You're right we need coffee." Riley pulled her phone from the pocket of her robe and then thought better of it.

" He'd still be asleep" Riley muttered, turning on her heels and hurrying quickly towards her bedroom. Maya shook her head, unsure of what was happening. Maya jumped when a shart rapping sound rang out from Riley's bedroom. Maya hurried across the small space and into Riley's doorway in time to see Riley jumping down from her bed, a broom in her hand.

" Coffee will be here in a few minutes." Riley proclaimed, a glint of mischief in her eyes.

" Ok" Maya responded, unsure what was happening.

A few minutes later there was a knock at the front door of their apartment.

" Could you get that?" Riley asked through a mouthful of toothpaste.

Maya crossed the small space and pulled open the front door. Josh was standing in the doorway, large black bags under her eyes, in his hands a pot of steaming coffee. Josh smiled at her as soon as she opened the door. Josh's eyes flicked down for half a second and Maya was suddenly very aware that she wasn't wearing a bra under her tank top.

"Delivery" Josh past her the pot of coffee. Maya, quickly recomposing herself, smiled gratefully at him.

"Bless you," Maya said gratefully taking in heavy smell of the fresh brew.

" Do you want a cup?" Maya asked, gesturing towards the kitchen. Josh smiled at her again.

" That would be great actually. Riles woke me up with her desperate pleas." Josh joked, following Maya into the tiny room that housed the kitchen. Maya reached up to grab Josh a cup and she felt her cotton sleep shorts stretch up with her. When she turned to face Josh his eyes once again flicked upwards away from where he had been watching. He blushed slightly knowing he was caught and Maya smirked.

"I would offer you cream and sugar" Maya began, passing Josh the cup " But baking soda is quite literally the only thing in our fridge right now" she joked. Josh smiled at her again. Maya felt her knees go a little weak, so she hopped up on the only square of empty counter space.

"Thank god!" Riley exclaimed, entering the kitchen which felt exceptionally small with all three of them there. Riley lifted the coffee cup from Josh's hands and took a long drink.

"Ahh, coffee" Riley closed her eyes and took another drink.

"You know when I told you I was just upstairs if you needed anything, I didn't mean that you should bang on your ceiling every time you run out of groceries." Josh teased, pouring himself another cup of coffee to replace the one that Riley stole.

"This was a real emergency!" Riley defended. " You should have seen the look in Maya's eyes when she found out we didn't have any coffee. It was a matter of national security." Riley teased, nudging Maya's knee.

"By the way, Maya this is my uncle Josh," Riley explained, gesturing between the two of them.

"We've been introduced actually," Maya responded, taking another long drink from her mug and then reaching for the pot to refill it. Riley looked between the two of them with a slight look of confusion.

"When exactly?" Riley inquired, her eyebrows knitting together slightly.

" Fire escape" Maya replied, gesturing back towards the windows.

"Oh" Riley answered surprised. The kitchen was too small of a space for the three of them to be in there comfortably.

" This is starting to feel a little bit like threes company, so I'm going to get ready for school." Maya joked, sliding off the counter, taking her mug with her.

"Thanks for the coffee, Josh!" Maya called over her shoulder, finding herself hoping that Josh just might be watching her as she was walking away.


	3. Chapter 3

NNY 3

Almost a month had passed since Maya had moved into the little apartment, and she already felt completely at home in New York City. She had never felt so accepted or herself, as she did sitting in the studios at school or wandering the streets around campus between classes, searching for inspiration. The most boring street in the city was still five times as exciting as the little town that Maya had grown up in. Maya had been surprised at how quickly she had made friends in all of her classes, she rarely found herself walking to classes alone, and she'd been out with different groups several times a week. Just as she got closer to her classmates, she'd also found herself getting well acquainted with her new roommate. Unlike Maya, Riley seemed to be having trouble making friends. She was a perfectly nice and pleasant girl but was far too shy to put herself out there for friendships. Despite this, Riley and Maya had formed a strong bond. Neither one of them seemed to be able to cook, so they lived off the food that Topanga dropped off, an endless stream of takeout and a lot of granola bars. They gathered together in their tiny living room to watch tv and gossip about their days most nights until Riley retreated back to her room to get some sleep, and Maya slunk off to work on her latest piece.

Friday mornings were the highlight of Maya's week. She had no classes that day and the whole weekend stretched out before her. Despite her lack of classes, Maya still woke up at the same time as she always did. She'd shuffle out into the kitchen, pour herself the largest cup of coffee she could manage and retreat back into her room. She'd gather a few supplies and crawl out her window onto the fire escape. She'd been working on a series of watercolours in her spare time, each reflecting a different angle of her view.

By the first Friday morning of October, the feeling of fall was just beginning to creep into the edges of the air. Maya had shivered slightly when she had first climbed onto the fire escape and was wondering if she should crawl back inside and slip a pair of sweatpants over her cotton shorts. She was thankful for the oversized sweatshirt that she often wore when she was painting.

Maya took a long drink of her coffee before she set to work. Through her open window, Maya could hear as Riley got ready for school, called goodbye and exited the apartment. Maya focused back in on her work, leaning close trying to get the detail of her piece just right. The grate above her shook breaking Maya focus. Her head snapped up to see Josh climbing out of his own window, coffee in hand.

"Morning!" Maya called upward, returning her focus to her work. She could feel a slight blush rush to her cheeks and she tried to ignore it. There was no denying that Josh was cute, but Maya thought it was way too cliche to have a crush on the cute guy upstairs. Not to mention too potentially complicated, with him being Riley's uncle.

" Are you already so fed up with Riley that you've got to hide out here?" Josh teased. Josh walked around to the stairs that connected their lands. He brought his coffee cup and sat down a few steps from where Maya was working.

"That's really good" Josh commented, craning his neck to see what Maya was working on. Realizing what he was doing, Josh quickly backtracked.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to like violate your privacy or anything" he apologized. Maya cracked a smile.

"It's fine!" she quickly reassured him. "I'll take the praise." she joked.

"You're really good." He said again, leaning a little closer again to admire Maya's work.

"Is this what you're going to school for?" he asked, looking up from the painting to her face.

"Yes," Maya confirmed, brushing a stray piece of her hair out of her face self consciously. " The ever-practical choice of art school" she joked self deprecatingly.

"I think that's awesome. Practicality is overrated." Maya looked up at him and smiled.

"What do you do then? Obviously something entirely risky. Flim school? A rock band?" She teased.

" I'm pre-law" He admitted, a bit abashed.

" Very practical." Maya complimented.

"Yeah well we can't all be free spirits"

"That's true" Maya admitted.

"Someone has to contribute to society. I doubt I'll be stimulating the local economy much with my zero dollar salary and no benefits. But I will be counting on fancy-ass professionals such as yourself to invest in the art world. So if you ever see some piss poor attempt at painting with my name on at some gallery in Brooklyn, I beg you buy because it's the only way that I'll eat."

"I'll be sure to do that," Josh promised, grinning at her.

"In fact," Josh began, digging into his pants pocket and finally unearthing a few crumpled bills.

" I will pay you," he quickly counted out the money he had unearthed " 8 dollars for that masterpiece right there" he offered. Maya laughed.

"Well this" she began, gesturing at the half-finished watercolour she was working on, " Is apart of a set" she explained.

Josh nodded " well then I would like to commission an original".

" Of what?" Maya countered, sure he wasn't serious. That caused Josh to pause.

" I am not sure" he admitted. " But I will let you know" He promised, getting to his feet. " I'll let you get back to it."

"See you later" Maya called after him, already turning her attention back to her work.

…

"Thank god this week is over!" Riley grumbled as soon as she had shut the front door behind her.

"Hard week?" Maya asked through a mouthful of peanut butter that she was eating straight out of the jar.

"Harder than I'd like to admit" Riley stated, hanging her backpack up on a hook by the door and kicking off her shoes.

"This will make it better" Maya promised, holding out the jar of peanut butter to Riley.

"thanks " Riley grumbled, taking the jar and scooping out of glob on her finger.

"Did you want to talk about it?" Maya asked tentatively, not sure what she was supposed to do.

Riley sighed. "There's nothing to say really. I just feel like the way that 90% of new freshmen feel, overwhelmed" she explained, scraping out another lump of peanut butter.

"You're like the most organized person I know" Maya complimented, a little astonished that Riley with her colour coded planner and massive wall calendar was feeling any less than prepared.

"I am overly organized because I am overly stressed" Riley explained with a huff, plopping herself down on the tiny couch and leaning her head back against the wall.

"Well I have a solution" Maya offered, moving to sit down next to Riley. Riley held up the peanut butter, " I thought this was the solution?"

"Ok well, I have a step two" Maya amended. " We are going out." Riley's eyes went wide,

"Um no we are not"

"Um yes, we are!" Maya had jumped to her feet.

"You need to blow off steam, and we are in the city that never sleeps, so relax for a little while but then get up get dress and get ready"

Riley shrunk back into the couch cushions dreading just what Maya might have in store.


	4. Chapter 4

NNY 4

Over the last few weeks, Maya had learned a lot about her roommate, and what she learned was that Riley was a big-time homebody. Apart from the immediate neighbourhood that Riley had grown up in, she knew about as much about the city was Maya did. Riley spent most of her time in her family's apartment and it sounded to Maya as if Riley had been quite content with her same day to day routine. Riley was a really sweet girl, but Maya could read her insecurities written all over her face. Moving in with Maya was the most out-there thing that Riley had ever done, and it was only at her father's insistence that she do so. Corey had such strong foundations with his own friends, and it hurt him to see his daughter lacking the friendships that had shaped his own life so much.

After a few hours out, Riley finally seemed to be having fun. At first, Maya could tell that Riley felt out of place. They had been seated at a back table of a small, slightly dingey pub that was holding an open mic night for poets. They had been seated at a round table with a few of Maya's friends from school, one of whom was planning on performing that night. Maya made sure to include Riley in all the conversations and watched her carefully out of the corner of her eye. After a lot of awful poetry sprinkled with the occasional decent piece, Riley had relaxed a little, letting down her guard slightly. The group laughed about the terrible prose that they had heard and gushed about how surprisingly amazing the greasy cheese covered fries they were all picking at were.

Ria, a girl from Maya's abstract class shuttered as she looked around the crummy room," I don't want to think about how filthy their kitchen must be"

"Better not to think about it" Maya advised, pushing the basket of fries towards Ria, who shrugged and took another fry which was dripping in cheese. Riley helped herself to another few fries herself.

Ria and Riley were seated side by side and despite their vaguely similar names, the girls appeared to be polar opposites. Riley's long brown hair was neatly tucked behind her ears, she had the barest skiff of makeup on, and her pale pink cardigan and simple blouse made her look like she was headed to an afternoon tea, rather than a night out in the city. Ria had curls so out of control that on more than one occasion Maya had seen an elastic band snap right out of Rias hair during their studio time. Rias wore bright lipstick and a cropped t-shirt that showed off her half sleeve of tattoos.

Despite their outward differences, the girls seemed to be getting on great. Maya was pleased, out of all the people they had come to meet up with that night, Ria was her favourite. Seeing Ria being so kind of welcoming to Riley proved to Maya that she had judged her well.

"Where are we going next?" Jana, the girl sitting to Maya's left asks eagerly. Jana, like Maya, was from a small town and was excited to have so many options for her entertainment.

"Let's go dancing!" Ria proclaims, delighted with the new idea. Maya looks over to Riley to see that her friend has gone as white as a ghost.

Lee, the boy who had performed earlier that night, seemed just as enthused with the idea. "Where?" he asks, shoving the remainder of the fries into this mouth and raising his hand in the air, signalling waiter for the bill.

" Live music, two blocks from here" Pryia, a sculpting major, offers, turning around her phone and showing a facebook ad from a band playing at a bar called _Puzzle_.

"Let's do it" Jana replied giddily, digging in her purse for her wallet and throwing down a few bills to pay.

Their small group moved out of the pub and east towards their new destination. Maya linked her arm through Rileys as their group moved.

"Are you up for this? We can totally go home if you're not feeling it" Maya offers, not wanting to push Riley to do too much too fast.

"It's fine!" Riley states although her voice doesn't sound quite so sure.

"We don't have to stay long" Maya promises "I'm getting pretty tired anyway," she says in order to ease any guilt that Riley might feel about cutting the night short.

In the end, Its Maya who has to make Riley leave. Ria had come fully equipped that night with her older sister's ID and had her hand stamped at the next bar proclaiming her to be over 21. She took turns bringing the other girls credit cards up to the bar and buying them rounds of drinks. The band isn't very good but they are loud and that's enough. Maya lost track of time while they all danced, the vodka that Ria brought her burned the back of her throat but Maya likes the way that it felt. Riley's drink sloshes slightly as she danced so wildly in the middle of their little circle. It makes Maya smile to see her new friend acting so carefree.

It's just past 2 am when they finally leave the dancefloor and head out into the cool night air and hail a cab back towards their apartment. Both Riley and Maya were quiet as they rode back towards their building, so Maya didn't immediately realize just how drunk Riley was, but when Riley stumbles when they exit the cab, Maya realizes that her roommate is much more intoxicated than she it.

Maya, who had been drinking the foul-tasting but very strong homemade wine in the basements of kids from her high school since she was 14, had a much stronger tolerance for alcohol, barely felt buzzed anymore from the three drinks that Ria had managed to wrangle for them. Riley, who only had 2 drinks as she had spilled most of her third on the dance floor, was definitely more than buzzed. Maya realized this must have been Riley's first time drinking.

Before Maya can reach her, Riley stumbles again, this time failing to catch herself, Riley hit the pavement.

"Shit!" Maya rushes over to Riley's side, anxious that she'd hurt herself, but Riley was already laughing and pulling herself to her feet.

"Let's go, Riles." Maya encouraged, wrapping one arm around Riley's middle.

"It's no big deal" Riley gushes, leaning into Maya's side. " I fall over, like all the time"

Maya gets the front door unlocked and the two girls move into the building's small lobby.

"Oh! Let's check the mail!" Riley breaks away from Maya and rushes over to the mailboxes fixed to the far left wall of the lobby. Maya smiled at the memory of the two of them getting their first piece of mail to their new apartment and being overly excited at this new adult passage. The flyer for a pizza place a few blocks over was the first piece of mail that they had received, and even if it hadn't been addressed to them and every other person in the building had gotten the same one stuffed into their mailbox, the girls still had it stuck up on their fridge as a memento.

As Riley attempted to stuff her mailbox key into their tiny mailbox, Maya noticed that Riley had ripped the knee of her jeans when she had fallen and blood was now seeping slowly onto her jeans.

"Riley!" Maya exclaimed, rushing over to examine her roommate's wounds.

"It's nothing!" Riley insisted, trying to wave Maya away. Maya saw a flash of red when Riley shooed her. Maya caught Riley's wrists in her hands and saw that both of Riley's palms were skinned from where she had caught herself on the pavement. Just at that moment, the front door to their building opened and Josh walked into the lobby. He came to a stop when he noticed Maya and Riley standing in front of the mailboxes and saw the blood on Riley's hands. It was Maya who broke the silence.

"Do you have any bandaids?"

…..

" Thanks for the supplies"

Maya picked up the contents of the tiny first aid kit that Josh had brought down to their apartment and packed them back into their box.

Josh had helped Maya get Riley upstairs and then ran up to his own apartment and returned with the antiseptic and bandages. Josh had held Riley's hands still and kept her talking while Maya used her tweezers to pick out the tiny pieces of gravel that were imbedded in Maya's palms. Maya had dosed some gauze in antiseptic, cleaned Riley's wounds, and bandaged up the damage. After she was put back together, Riley sleepily thanked the two of them and slumped off to her room to sleep off the rest of her drunkenness.

"No problem" Josh responded, stifling a yawn behind his hands.

"Sorry to keep you up" Maya quickly closed the box and handed it back to Josh.

"It's fine" Josh quickly responded, a crooked smile stretching across his face. " I wouldn't say no to a cup of coffee tho".

"Not planning on sleeping?" Maya teased, turning to flick on the coffee maker and placing a fresh filter in the machine.

" Nah, far too early for that" He responded, leaning up against the counter.

"But if you want to get to sleep" He quickly backtracked, concerned that he was pushing his presence on her. Maya laughed.

"I've still got hours yet" She promised, and it was in fact the truth. Maya had planned to spend a few hours working before she finally turned in for the night, so staying up to have a quick cup of coffee with Josh didn't seem like a hardship.

"Did you have a good night?" Josh asked as the coffee started to drip into the pot.

"Yeah" Maya answered, pulling mugs down from the cramped cabinet " it was pretty good. I think Riley had a good time". Josh smiled.

"Other than all the blood, I'm glad she had a good time. It's nice to see her getting out of her shell a bit"

"So you don't think I'm a bad influence" Maya half-joked. The truth be told, Maya had been a little concerned that Josh would think that Maya was leading his niece away from the straight and narrow. Josh laughed.

" Maybe a bit" he joked. Maya smiled, pouring the freshly brewed coffee into the mugs and passing one to Josh.

"There's creamer in the fridge if you need it" Maya offered, gesturing towards the minuscule apartment size refrigerator.

Josh took the mug. "I'm good. Thank you " He brought the mug to his lips and took a long drink. Maya ducked into the fridge and pulled out a Gatorade.

"I'll be right back" Maya walked out of the kitchen and quietly opened the door to Riley's room. Riley was fast asleep, she hadn't bothered to change out of her clothes before she had passed out. Maya placed the Gatorade on Riley's bedstand and crept back out to the living room.

"Think that'll be enough for her to escape a hangover?"

"It's a start at least. She didn't drink all that much but she weighs about the same as a baby bird" Maya joked.

"I'm actually glad I ran into you" Josh began, finishing his coffee and reaching to pour another cup.

"Oh?" Maya questioned, raising her eyebrow at him. Josh filled his own cup and then topped off Maya's.

"I think I've decided what I'm commissioning you to paint" Josh explained. Maya's heart lept. She hadn't been sure that Josh was serious about having her paint something for him but him bringing it up again proved that he really wanted to buy a piece of her work.

"Ok. What is it?" Maya asked eagerly. Josh smiled nervously.

" It's easier if I show you" he explained. Maya raised her eyebrows.

" Ok" she answered wearily, unsure what he could possibly mean.

"You might want to grab your coat"


	5. Chapter 5

NNY 5

" Should I be worried?" Maya asked as she followed Josh up yet another flight of stairs.

" I mean, you're not planning on murdering me or anything are you?" Josh laughed.

"If I was planning a homicide I would be leading you to the basement, not the roof"

"The roof? That's where we're going?"

" Why else would I be dragging you but all these stairs?" Josh joked. Maya rolled her eyes.

" I don't know. Maybe you have a weird fetish for apartment 9C" she teased. They reached the 9th floor and instead of turning towards the hall filled with apartments, they turned in the opposite direction and came face to face with a door labelled **ROOF ACCESS**, and written in smaller letters underneath that **PRIVATE. **Josh turned the doorknob and Maya's heart seized, sure for a moment that an alarm would sound and they would be caught. No alarm blared, and Maya forced herself forward after Josh. She groaned when she saw what was behind the door, another set of stairs.

"More stairs?" Maya groaned, the stitch in her stomach screaming in protest. After climbing 5 sets of steep stairs from her apartment to the top floor, Maya was slightly winded.

"This is the last set I promise" Josh encouraged, starting to climb the chairs himself. For just a second Maya hesitated. Was she being stupid? Was she being safe? Was it really smart to follow a guy she barely knew up to a rooftop in the middle of the night when she had already been drinking? True the coffee and the stair climbing had sobered her up but because she was slightly soberer now, she was more aware of herself. If this was an episode of Law and Order: SVU, this would be the opening scene and detectives would be investigating her death after the buildings super discovered her body in the water tank in three weeks' time. But just as these doubts flooded her mind Josh turned to see if she was following him.

"Are you coming?" He beckoned, his boyish smile sprawled across his face. A wave of ease crashed over Maya. While she didn't know Josh that well, she knew enough to tell that he was a good guy, and even if she didn't trust him yet, she certainly trusted Riley, and Riley had nothing but good things to say about her Uncle.

_You said you wanted adventure_, she reminded herself as she grabbed onto the railing and pulled herself up the stairs.

The rooftop was a little nondescript, hardly something someone would want a painting of, so Maya assumed they were there for the view. She crossed past Josh to stare at the view of the city. They were close to Morningside Park and Maya could just see the peak of it from this side of the building. Maya assumes that this is what Josh must want to have painted, as its the most exciting thing to be seen from this vantage point.

"What are you looking at?" The sound of Josh's voice startled Maya. She hadn't realized that he had come to stand behind her. She jumps slightly and almost loses her balance as she turns on her heel to look at him. Josh reached out, placing both of his hands on either of Maya's shoulders to steady her. Maya recovers quickly.

" I thought I was looking at your future painting, but judging by the look on your face, I'm thinking I've got it wrong. So what do you want a painting on? The water tank?" Maya teased, trying not to think about the fact that a minute ago she had been imagining her mangled body floating in that tank.

"Over here" Josh took her hand and guided her towards a different side of the roof's edge. The view from this side was much less exciting, a few more boring rooftops much like the one they were standing on, taller buildings on the following blocks.

"What am I looking at?" Maya asked, confused.

"Philadelphia," Josh said simply.

"Ok, I know that I'm in art school and that doesn't exactly scream geographical genius but come on" Josh laughed at her.

" let me be more exact. Right now, we are facing southwest, and 94 miles in this direction is Philadephia, where I grew up". Maya's mouth formed a silent oh.

" Whenever I get homesick, which is more than I'd like to admit, I sneak up here and stare in this direction and contemplate time and space, and somehow that makes me feel less alone" He finishes.

Maya stared out at the view and thought about what Josh was saying. She wondered what direction she would have to turn in order to be facing towards her own home. A soft smile spread across her face as she imagined her parents asleep in their little farmhouse a state away. After a few moments of comfortable silence, Maya spoke,

"I can work with this" She promised, already framing out the picture in her mind.

"Did you have a medium in mind?" Josh looked down at her confused.

"A what?" Maya smiled to herself.

" Did you want a watercolour? Oil-based?" She prompted.

"Oh um" Josh screwed up his face in thought.

" Did you want me to pick for you?"

"Please," he admitted, smiling bashfully down at her.

….

"Good morning Kitten" Maya had been up for almost three hours by the time that Riley pulled herself out of bed and out onto the couch in their living room.

"Morning" Riley muttered, curling up on the couch and pulling a blanket over herself.

"How are you feeling?" Maya asked wearily, peering over at Riley from her own place on the couch.

"Tired" Riley admitted, stifling a yawn as if to hammer home her point.

"Sorry if I got a little sloppy last night" Maya looked over to see that Riley looked genuinely embarrassed.

"Girl stop. You were fine. I'm just glad you had fun."

"I did. Thank you"

Maya smiled into her cup of coffee.

"That's what friends are for".


End file.
